Year - 2026 · Size - 30 x 21 cm / 11¾ x 8¼ in · Medium - Ink and pen on paper

When I visit my parents in Melbourne the best way to spend time together is joining them on their daily dog walk. We parked at the back of the Greenvale footy ovals and wandered through the kangaroo paddocks while their two beagles pulled them around, trying to smell and spray every possible landmark. Soon enough we entered Woodlands Park proper through the intriguing sugar gum forest — once planted to provide firewood for the geriatric centre, now long gone. Naturalised and thriving, these gums have made the place their own.

As we rounded the ranger station I said goodbye and hurried off to hunt a painting. It was late in the day and I had a long way to walk home, so I headed straight for the top of Gellibrand Hill to visit one of its peculiar phenomena — the mighty crop of Agave americana, the century plant. It was much as I remembered, sprawling through a granite outcrop with flower stalks reaching high into the sky, a beautiful old cypress framing a magnificent view of the city beyond.

I sat down amongst the weeds, serrated tussock and dandelion rosettes and began to paint. A rabbit popped its head above a rock and vanished. Then moments later a big red fox — a fine specimen — made an even briefer cameo appearance.